WWE's Brie Bella on Facing Stephanie McMahon at SummerSlam

Share.

''I'm living every human being's dream to take it to your boss.''

By Eric Goldman

It's been a busy time for Brie Bella in the WWE. While her husband, Daniel Bryan, is currently not able to wrestle -- thanks to a neck injury and the surgery needed to repair it – Brie has been involved in a big storyline on WWE programming, with none other than Stephanie McMahon.

This Sunday, Brie will finally face Stephanie in the ring – a match that’s been built up for the past few months and which is all the more notable given Stephanie, one of the heads of WWE, hasn’t had a match in many years.

I sat down with Brie to talk about SummerSlam, the exposure she and her twin sister Nikki have gotten from the hit series Total Divas and more.

IGN TV: So this is kind of an amazing time for you career-wise, going into this big match and how much attention it's getting.

Brie Bella: It's so surreal. You know, it's so funny because, like everyone does in life, you'll sit back and think of your dreams. "Man, if this could happen, or that…" If you had said, "What would be your dream match?" without a question, I would have said Stephanie McMahon, not thinking it was possible. The fact that at SummerSlam I get to take it to her, I'm living every human being's dream to take it to your boss. I'm so excited for that.

Brie Bella on WWE RAW.

IGN: Yeah, I was just talking to your husband, and he was saying there's something very therapeutic about having a reason to slap your boss!

Brie Bella: You know what I mean? Everyone's dream! You just have so much passion. It's like, "It's my boss!” Of course, right?

IGN: People were wondering, even a couple months ago, "Hey, could this be leading to a match?", but Stephanie hadn’t had a match in a long time. So when you found out it was really going to happen, what was your reaction?

Brie Bella: I was almost speechless. I was so excited, like, "Hell yeah! Let's do this." You know, one thing that's been great is that this organically happened. This was never forced. It is what it is, and I'm lucky enough that my husband, being Daniel Bryan, you saw what he went through last year with the McMahons, constantly effing him over. Just to be able to be the woman and do something to a woman who's doing all those terrible things to my husband is such a great feeling -- because he can't. Try as he might, he can't touch her -- but I can. To get revenge for my husband and sister, it's a great feeling. I'm excited.

Brie Bella and Stephanie McMahon face off.

IGN: In general, has it just been a crazy, exciting, turbulent year, with Total Divas and everything that's happened with your husband?

Brie Bella: Yes -- and it's so funny, because I was telling Bryan, "Is there going to be a moment where the rainbow comes out of the storm, or we take a deep breath?" For us, it's like, when I left WWE the first time, I just needed to walk away for 11 months. The Divas division just started going a different way. They weren't seeing us wrestle as much, and all we wanted to do was wrestle. It was like, "Well, if we can't wrestle, then why be here?" I just think we needed to walk away and clear our heads. It was amazing to get that phone call to come back and be like, "Hey, we do need you guys," and Nikki and I were like, "Do we get to wrestle?" They were like, "Absolutely." Then we came back! You know, her and I were athletes. We grew up as athletes. We love the feeling of just getting rough and sweating and learning -- that's us, and that's why we have such a big passion for wrestling. So to then come back and they're doing the show Total Divas -- like, "It's going to showcase more of your personal life. Are you and Daniel up for it?" We were like, "Sure! Yeah." At first we were nervous, then that took off. I mean, nobody knew. It could have been a complete failure, but that took off. Then he proposes, then we get married, then we wins the titles, then we're at our honeymoon. Then, all of a sudden, it was like, when you have all that excitement just build, it's exhausting. But then also we lost his dad, and he was such an amazing man. It was so tragic. To have that compress you down, it just takes so much out of you. Then a week later, finding out that Bryan needs emergency surgery. Two weeks after that, having a relapse. For months now we've -- we've figured out the relapse. It's now that he needs another surgery -- and then getting robbed, right when we got to our house. I was just like, "Please let SummerSlam be that rainbow!" You know, the turning point for our summer. So it has been very crazy, just the last two years. You know, I'd relive it all again, but yeah, I'm just like, "Whew! Can we take a break?" [Laughs]

Continue to Page 2 as Brie talks about getting to close out RAW two weeks in a row, the fandom Total Divas brings and more.